Most Enterprises Still Ignore Document Management

The managed print services (MPS) market is maturing as an increased number of businesses are turning to managed printing services every year. One of the key factors contributing to this market growth is the need for significant cost reduction. Xerox, which has remained the leader in global market share for MPS believes there is still a vast untapped opportunity for market expansion. In an exclusive interaction with CXOtoday, Vishal Awal, Executive Director – Services, Xerox South Asia discusses what makes the company a leader in this space. He also throws light on the trends and challenges that exist in the market as well as how partnering with the right vendor can lead to success in the competitive managed print services marketplace.

What is the current size of the MPS market and what are your predictions for its future growth?

Managed Print Services market in India is projected to grow at a rate of 30 percent, making it one of the fastest growing MPS market globally, and a significant growth opportunity for Xerox. In comparison, Asia-Pacific region is growing at 17-20 percent and the global average growth rate is 10-12 percent. According to an E&Y report on Indian MPS market, the market size as of 2014 is expected to be $250 million. MPS adoption levels as of 2011 were less than 10% (steadily growing though) and hence there is a vast untapped opportunity for market expansion.

If you look at enterprises today, each year improper document management costs organizationsmillions of dollars in liability, reduced efficiency and lost productivity. And these costs will only increase in future with expansion in business operations, and ever increasing regulatory and compliance related requirements. Hence it becomes critical to maintain proper document management infrastructure/program to ensure data privacy and security, regulatory, compliance, control and access to information and cost control associated with information processing.

Therefore, the incumbent need is to outsource these services to a service provider that specializes in the domain and is capable of providing the desired turn-around times and Service Levels backed by tangible and measurable key Performance Indicators, continuous monitoring and proactive support for the print environments. This trend has already begun and in future we see more and more enterprises and corporates outsourcing their document management needs to leading global players like us for whom it is a core business.

How are managed print market conditions changing or evolving?

Print and document output is really the last unmanaged frontier when it comes to optimizing IT infrastructure. This, combined with trends that are affecting the overall print market (mobility, digitization, enhanced integration of documents with work-flows, analytics, cloud services, etc.) are changing customer buying behavior.

In the short term, customers are looking at their MPS provider to help optimize their office and centralized print infrastructure. Manyof them may not even be aware how many devices they have, how they are being used and if they are even right for their business. Advanced analytics and new assessment tools are surfacing toclearly demonstrate to the customer key data points and the potential benefits upfront.

In the long term, linkages of documents and work-flows, coupled with print suppression measures via increased digitization; and advanced analytics, mobile and cloud printing help the enterprises unleash an extra layer of productivity, thereby gaining enhanced competitive positioning. Advanced MIS capabilities provide insights that help the clients gain visibility and control over their print infrastructure, thereby effectively managing the most vital asset for the enterprises – information.We believe over a period of time, we shall continue to see accelerated movement towards more integrated work flow solutions that blur the lines between MPS and basic BPOs in the future.

What is the significance of MPS specifically for the Indian IT environment?

Managed Service Providers and IMS players are already managing much of the customer’s IT infrastructure, acting as trusted advisors. But the print infrastructure is still one place most havenot yet optimized – and it remains a huge opportunity for MPS providers. Showing customers how their unmanaged print environment has a negative impact on their bottom line is key to gaining attention since the rewards related to cost savings, productivity boost, security, visibility and control, sustainability etc. are too tempting to let go.

According to you, what kinds of challenges exist in the growth of this technology?

India is an emerging market for Services business and represents a significant growth opportunities for Xerox Corporation. We see a fundamental structural change happening in the enterprise landscape where more and more customers are shifting from a Cap-Ex driven captive print infrastructure to an Op-Ex led Managed Print Services, thereby reaping the benefits of lower costs, enhanced productivity, mobile/cloud printing, user-based accounting and security features, effective print governance via SLA assurance and single point of accountability.

We believe that our document management services have huge potential to grow. We are constantly educating enterprises and making them realize the potential savings and productivity enhancement through optimized document workflow possible through Xerox Document Management Services. However, what most enterprises do not realize is that the costs and risks of having a fragmented, decentralized document strategy are staggering. It’s more than simply paying too much to create, manage and produce documents. Document management is one of the most neglected parts in most organizations, in spite of the crucial role it plays in enabling operations and its contribution to productivity and efficiency of the organization. The reasons are evident – the ownership in split across functions; costs are not visible and impact on organizational efficiency and productivity are not measured. By taking control of the end-to-end processes for each document, applying Six Sigma methodologies, processes and using market-leading solutions and services, we ensure that the entire lifecycle of documents is managed using appropriate technology in adherence to set standards.

What are some of your latest managed print market developments?

Xerox is bullish and focused to tap this potential market. In fact we recently announced to the media our expanded MPS offerings via the launch of The Next Generation MPS. The Next Generation MPS is designed to build momentum and deliver new value that help customers of all sizes realize cost savings upto 30% with increase efficiencies. It is designed to analyze how and why documents are printed, and use that analytical intelligence to change the way information is accessed. It is way beyond merely managing customers’ existing fleet. As it simplifies everyday document-intensive business processes through workflow automation, it enhances information security without disrupting the IT infrastructure and make mobile/cloud printing easier and more convenient.Some of the other services include Xerox secure print manager suite, Xerox document analytics services and Xerox workflow assessment services.

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